Markandeya Purana — Adhyaya 7, Shloka 58

Adhyaya 7 — Harishchandra Tested by Vishvamitra: The Gift of the Kingdom and the Pandava Curse-Backstory

Sanskrit

धिक् त्वां दुष्टसमाचारम् अनृतं जिह्मभाषणम् ।

मम राज्यं च दत्वा यः पुनः प्राक्रष्टुम् इच्छसि ॥

Transliteration

dhik tvāṃ duṣṭa-samācāram anṛtaṃ jihma-bhāṣaṇam |

mama rājyaṃ ca datvā yaḥ punaḥ prākraṣṭum icchasi ||

Translation

可耻啊——你行止邪恶，虚妄不实，言辞诡曲！我既已施舍出我的王国，如今你却还想再夺回去。

Word by Word

• धिक्: shame! fie!
• धिक्: Sambodhana/Exclamation (सम्बोधन/निपातार्थ)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: dhik (अव्यय)
• Form: Exclamation/particle (निपात), expressing censure

• त्वाम्: you
• त्वाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Feminine pronoun (सर्वनाम), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• दुष्टसमाचारम्: of wicked conduct
• दुष्टसमाचारम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duṣṭa (प्रातिपदिक) + samācāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); karmadhāraya = 'bad conduct' used as epithet of tvām

• अनृतम्: untrue, false
• अनृतम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anṛta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); used predicatively/appositionally

• जिह्मभाषणम्: crooked-speaking, deceitful in speech
• जिह्मभाषणम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: jihma (प्रातिपदिक) + bhāṣaṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन); 'crooked speech' as epithet/apposition

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Genitive (षष्ठी/6), Singular (एकवचन)

• राज्यम्: kingdom
• राज्यम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया/2), Singular (एकवचन)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• दत्वा: having given
• दत्वा: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dā (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वान्त/ल्यबन्त), 'having given'

• यः: who
• यः: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा/1), Singular (एकवचन); relative pronoun

• पुनः: again
• पुनः: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: punar (अव्यय)
• Form: Adverb (क्रियाविशेषण अव्यय)

• प्राक्रष्टुम्: to drag away, to pull back
• प्राक्रष्टुम्: Prayojana (प्रयोजन/उद्देश्य)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-ā-kṛṣ (धातु)
• Form: Infinitive (तुमुन्), 'to drag/pull away'

• इच्छसि: you desire
• इच्छसि: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: iṣ (धातु)
• Form: Present (लट्), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

Speakers

• Context-dependent; the verse reads as a direct rebuke spoken by an aggrieved party to a deceitful claimant (exact speaker pair not determinable from the isolated verse alone).

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "bibhatsa", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Royal ethics
• Truthfulness (satya) vs. falsehood (anṛta)
• Condemnation of deceitful speech
• Ingratitude and breach of gift/pledge

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse condemns adharma expressed as (1) untruth, (2) deceitful speech, and (3) attempting to retract what has been given. In dharma-ethics, a gift or relinquishment—especially of sovereignty or pledged property—creates a moral bond; trying to seize it back is framed as both greed and betrayal.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This is best classified under Vaṃśa/Vaṃśānucarita (dynastic or character-centered narrative/ethical episode) rather than Sarga/Pratisarga/Manvantara, since the content is a moral rebuke within a human conflict rather than cosmogenesis or manvantara chronology.

What is the esoteric significance?

Symbolically, 'crooked speech' (jihma-bhāṣaṇa) represents inner duplicity that distorts dharma, while 'giving the kingdom and reclaiming it' can be read as the ego’s refusal to truly renounce control. The verse warns that renunciation without inner integrity becomes merely strategic, not transformative.